"27 Dresses" delayed by week to Jan. 18

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Fox will delay the release of "27 Dresses" until Jan. 18, the first day of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend, citing an overwhelming response to sneak previews for the Katherine Heigl romantic comedy.

Moving the opening weekend from January 11 allows the studio to maximize holiday sales, get in another round of nationwide sneak previews January 13, and offer the film as a clear alternative to sci-fi thriller "Cloverfield," the only other new release that weekend.

The "27 Dresses" sneak previews played December 27 to 539 theaters nationwide, with 27 of those previews featuring models wearing bridesmaid dresses adorned with the film's title and credits, a Fox representative said.

"Grey's Anatomy" star Heigl plays a woman who has been a bridesmaid 27 times and who re-examines her "always a bridesmaid" lifestyle when her boss (Edward Burns) gets engaged to her younger sister (Malin Akerman). Burns would have been competing with himself on January 11, as he also stars in the teen horror "One Missed Call," which opens that day.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter